Expert Bios

Harvey Charles

Ron Cushing

David L. Di Maria
Dr. David L. Di Maria is Senior International Officer & Associate Vice Provost for International Education at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). Prior to joining UMBC, he served as Associate Provost for International Programs at Montana State University, Director of International Programs and Services at Kent State University and Assistant Director of International Student and Scholar Services at St. Cloud State University. He is also a former President of the American International Recruitment Council and Chair of NAFSA’s International Education Leadership Knowledge Community. Dr. Di Maria regularly presents, publishes and consults globally on critical issues in international education. His most recent book is Achieving More with Less: Lean Management in the International Student Office. Dr. Di Maria earned a doctorate from the University of Minnesota, where he focused his research on campus services for international students.

Gretchen Dobson
Gretchen Dobson is a global engagement strategist, author and academic with 28 years’ experience working across six continents. Dobson advises CEOs, governing boards, embassies and policymakers on best practices in digital and other creative strategies and solutions that enable institutions, companies, organizations and governments to identify, track, engage, and manage relationships with their global stakeholders and brand ambassadors. Dobson is the author of Being Global: Making the Case for International Alumni Relations (CASE Books, 2011), the International Travel Handbook (Academic Impressions, 2014), has edited Staying Global: how international alumni relations advances the agenda (EAIE, 2015), and co-authored Engaging International Alumni as Strategic Partners (NAFSA, 2021). Dobson received her BA and MA from Boston College, and her EdD from the University of Pennsylvania. She holds adjunct faculty appointments with the University at Albany and Endicott College’s Graduate Schools of Education, and serves on the Advisory Board for the Executive Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Higher Education in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development at Boston College. She is based in New South Wales, Australia. For additional resources and commentary, see https://www.linkedin.com/in/gretchendobson/

Karin Fischer

Mitch Leventhal
Dr. Mitch Leventhal (Ph.D. University of Chicago) is Professor of Professional Practice & Entrepreneurship. Prior to his current appointment, Leventhal served as Vice Chancellor for Global Affairs at the SUNY system administration. An international leader in the area of global higher education management, Dr. Leventhal has been an advocate for reform of US recruiting practice, development of new financing paradigms in support of internationalization, creation of improved technical systems to support comprehensive internationalization, and deeper and more creative approaches to engagement with corporate partners. Dr. Leventhal is a co-founder and past president of the American International Recruitment Council (AIRC), a standard development organization which has developed the first rigorous certification process for international student recruitment agencies. He also has served as Senior Advisor on Academic Affairs to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), where he headed a global academic working group which is developing an implementation and reporting framework so that higher education institutions can adopt UNGC principles with the same efficacy as corporations. Prior to his arrival at SUNY, Leventhal served as Vice Provost for International Affairs at the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Leventhal has founded several companies, including a global payments company which is now publicly traded on the NASDAQ and London stock exchanges, and another – a Yale University spinoff – which facilitated technology transfer between research institutions and the private sector. Mitch Leventhal’s higher education research interests include global strategy, risk management, private equity flows, entrepreneurship, and cross-border mobility. His doctorate was awarded by the University of Chicago, and focused on the development of for-profit medical schools and their impact on Caribbean development.

Josh McKeown

Nancy Ruther
